


Terminal Point

by thekeyholder



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 06:39:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1769338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder/pseuds/thekeyholder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt's POV. On a cold December day he hurries to the railway station. He didn't expect to meet such a special person there...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Terminal Point

**Author's Note:**

> It seems I am determined to embarrass myself completely with these old fics I'm uploaading here.
> 
> Originally posted on my LJ in August 2010

_ “Life is just a series of stations.” _

__

Feeling a bit antsy right now; no, actually, more than a bit… the excitement was even affecting my poor stomach as well. This was the third time I had to go to the toilet and at the rate I was going I was afraid that I would be late.

I took a taxi to the railway station, promising a few extra pounds to the driver if he got there within ten minutes. We made some sharp slaloms dodging amongst the painfully slow cars and not caring about the slightly slippery road. I don’t know how but the taxi driver actually managed to get me there in nine minutes; I gave him a generous tip, leaving both of us smiling and wishing “Merry Christmas!” to each other. At least he could buy a nice present for his children.

Luckily once I was in the station, the queue in front of the ticket office wasn’t long but still, I didn’t expect it to move so fast. I didn’t have time to look at the timetable and in the next moment, the elderly cashier looked up at me making more than a little flustered. Taking a few moments to collect myself, I eventually asked for a ticket to Southampton.

“Sir, do you know that the next train service has already accumulated a fifty-minute delay?” Her bony finger pointed up at the electronic display. I bit my thin lower lip to hold down my anxiety; after all, it was only three o’clock. 

“Hopefully I can make it to Southampton for 8, right?” I chuckled. Hmm, I needn’t have hurried…

“Of course, Sir,” The cashier laughed kindly, “The trip is only two and a half hours long.”

Placing my ticket and student rail-card back in my pocket, I headed off to a warmer place. I bought a hot dog and a bottle of water, trying to ignore the greedy grumbling of my stomach which was craving for more than my scanty dinner. That’s me though, I was a poor student and I needed every penny. Why then was I travelling you might ask? I was going to an important event; my best mates, Chris and Kelly, were to hold their engagement party that night.

Chris was studying Chemistry at university and he was my roommate in the first year. Very intelligent guy, winning competitions after competitions, but he was also a man who surprisingly liked to party (which was not my case). We respected each other though and we became best friends over time. He often wanted to drag me to parties on a regular basis saying, “ _You will never find a girl if you stick indoors.”_ The funny thing is that he’d met Kelly at the library… so he wasn’t a good example in this sense.

There were roughly fifteen minutes to the supposed arrival of my train, but then the following was announced through the speakers:

“Due to serious weather conditions, the IC415 train service will have ten more minutes of delay. Our most sincere apologies to our clients for the inconvenience it causes.”

Now this was ridiculous! Just what I needed! Weather conditions, my arse… looking out on the window, I only saw a few inoffensive snowflakes. I decided to buy a hot chocolate to pass the time; I stepped to the bar searching for change, the bartender was attentively watching the TV when she heard my fumbling. Her eyes were still glued to the screen even as I made my order.

“In a moment, Sir.” While preparing my drink, she asked me curiously, “You stuck here, too? Weather is so awful; the sudden snowstorm’s messed up everything.”

“Snowstorm?” Dumbfounded confusion was no doubt reading straight across my eyes.

“You don’t know about it? The cold front from the North Pole brought a sample of the polar weather to England. Some roads are already blocked up there in north and …”

“So it’s true. Guess that’s why my train is arriving so late.”

The clerk nodded sympathetically and wished me good luck. Yes, I’ll certainly need it. After unhurriedly drinking the hot chocolate, I twinned the blue scarf round my neck and headed to the dusty platform. The chilly air made my muscles to contract and I crooked my shoulders awkwardly feeling like a tiny, helpless puppet. We take pride in our technology and intelligence but weather can still surmount over humanity easily, a cruel and merciless king. I looked up at the pale sky, cursing every god that came to my head; Chris had done so much for me so the least I could do was to arrive in time at his engagement party.

The thick fog enveloped me and the surrounding lights grew dim; I felt like I was in one of those crappy horror films and I just wanted to get out of this damned place already. An inscrutable threat hung in the air… I felt incredibly lonely on this platform. For a brief moment, I imagined myself waiting for the train which comes for the people who died. A very silly thought I know, but a shudder still passed through me.

A metal monster roared as it pulled in; finally, I was starting to wonder if it would ever show. I noticed with a sigh of relief that there were other brave persons as well as myself who would travel on the dark afternoon of the 19th of December. I got on quickly as I only had a light backpack with me and my eyes started searching for the compartment with number 8. I opened the door and stepped in the small place smiling at the welcoming warmness that seemed to linger in the air.

I heard a cough behind my back and I jumped up in surprise.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scary you.” A pleasantly polite voice sang in my ears and the owner chuckled at my shocked expression as I turned to face him.

“No, you didn’t… yeah, okay…maybe you did…” I felt my ears burning with shame under the gaze of the elegant presence I was talking to. He was a bit taller than me, with blonde hair and eyes of an interesting colour that I could not puzzle out in the poorly given light condition.

“I’m Dominic, by the way.” He held out his hand smiling and I returned both of his gestures.

“Name’s Matthew…” I presented myself as I sat down on the seat beside the window. My fellow traveller arranged his luggage neatly, as he continued our conversation.

“Where are you heading? S’awful how much we had to wait!”

“Yeah, I thought it would never arrive. I’m just visiting a friend in Southampton.” 

“Really? Me too! Actually, she’s my cousin and I’m attending her engagement party this evening.” He looked at his ticket and then to the numbers of the seats. “It seems I have a ticket right next to you.” He worded that in a low key, more to himself.

My left eyebrow rose as I lolled my head to look at him. I couldn’t decide which was weirder: the fact that he was going to a similar event as me or the fact that he sat only a few centimeters away from me. We both unbuttoned our coats but neither of us removed them, unsure of whether it was warm enough inside to risk taking them off.

“What’s your cousin’s name?” I asked curiously. Dom blinked at me calmly, probably questioning in his head the reason I wanted to know this piece of information.

“Uhm… Kelly. Kelly Stanson.”

“NO WAY!!!” A sharp cry left my mouth and I turned fully to see his face, “You’re going to Kelly’s and Chris’ engagement party too?!” I grinned like a lunatic as his face lit up with joy. He nodded and laughed softly; I felt like bouncing up and down.

“Oh god, I’ve never would have thought I’ll meet someone who goes to the same event!” He giggled shyly, hiding his eyes, “So how did you meet the lovebirds?”

“Oh, you see Chris was my room-mate last year at university. At first it was weird because we didn’t have any common courses so we didn’t really spend time with each other; we were like two strangers. One day though, he saw me in the corridors talking to Kelly; we were in the same class for a particular module but she’d been sick for a week and she needed my notes.”

I paused my short narrative to blow warm air on my trembling hands. I rubbed them but they still bore a vicious colour. Dom was pressing for the continuation but as he noticed my livid fingers, he took off his own leather gloves and offered them to me.

Of course, I wanted to refuse his gesture but his unconditional glance reminded me of that of my mum’s when I would just shut up and do what she told me to. As I pulled them on, I stared at Dominic’s hands which looked so smooth; the warmth of the soft fabric soothing my fingers which were cramped by cold. 

“Do you play the piano?” The young man’s question and his dreamy face took me aback equally.

“Err… yes, but how did you know?”

“I had a few piano lessons as a child but my teacher said she was looking for pupils with long fingers as they are usually more skilled.” He rolled his eyes and continued in a less hurt voice. “And the way you gesture with your hands is very elegant so I figured out that you’re probably an artist.”

What could have I done other than to blush a rose to my cheeks and mumble a confused ‘thank you’? The tensioned and awkward moment was interrupted by the guard who checked our tickets and wished us a good trip.

“So… back to your story about Kelly and Chris,” Dom took up patiently the thread of our conversation, “How did they get together?”

“Chris confessed to me that he found her pretty. So…I suggested that he gave some course-books back in my name, which I’d borrowed from her.” I smiled, mischievously reminiscing the past. “Chris went to the library and approached her. He told Kelly that I was sick and that I sent him to return her books. The rest is history.” My body temperature had finally risen to a comfortable level, so I took off my scarf and my thin coat.

“I envy them… they found each other quite easily. By the way, are you a student of the Music Academy?”

“No, but I do care for a lot for music.” I responded. “I’m actually studying English and German Literature. What about you?”

“Astronomy.” He laughed jauntily at my agape expression. “No worries, I can still look at stars in a poetic way.” He winked and recited a quote that must mean a lot to him, as he spoke it so elegantly. _“_ A philosopher once asked, ‘ _Ar_ e _we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?’"  **  
_

“That’s beautiful…” I stopped short in my speech, leaning against the cold window and without thinking, I closed my eyes and muttered the first thing that came into my mind.

_ “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” _

“Oscar Wilde is a great writer but why did you choose this quote?” I sighed resignedly but I was impressed by his knowledge nonetheless.

“I don’t know. It just gives me courage and support when I’m feeling blue. I’m somewhat reminded that I’m special…” Of course, right then I had to become emotional… a tear escaped from under my eyelashes and I couldn’t stop it. My whole body shuddered at the thought of this unknown, infinite pain but I received a gentle solace from a single gesture. A single gesture, which touched my heart like nothing ever had before.

A welcoming, warm hand that encompassed the burning skin of my cheeks and eased me from the burden I’d been carrying for at least a decade. Dom, the so called “stranger”, clasped me with his unconditioned love and I think I fell asleep resting my confused head on his muscular chest, filling me with a sense of security. I was surely exhausted but I knew that he had lulled me to sleep with his soothing voice.

“Matt, you are special, _very special_.”

I dreamt of something pleasant, waking up with a smile on my face. Nevertheless, I was surprised when I found myself hugging Dom’s waist tightly, his left hand was enveloping me protectively. Moreover, we were both covered by my new friend’s soft coat which smelled as good as its owner; a mixture of the fresh, deep-blue arctic seas and the bracing aroma of citrus. Wait… WHAT?! 

The closeness of another man almost made me push the panic button; I had no idea what was happening to me. I never really had that many good friends and touching another human being like this was almost unknown to me; now that I’d finally found someone as nice as Dom, I clung to him with all my power. My bustling about in my seat woke him and I looked up at his sleepy but ever so peaceful face. His eyes shone with something that looked like something I only knew from my beloved novels: _pure love_.

He gave me the most radiant smile I had ever seen and I forgot everything about the sullen winter outside, my tribulations inside or the nosy travellers that could see us. My marvel at him increased each second as Dom’s beautiful features impregnated forever in my mind. I thought that nothing could top my delight but he leaned closer and stopped mere inches from my face. I tried to speak with my eyes allowing, no asking him… to kiss me. His hot breath sent a shiver down my spine and I surrendered to happiness when his incredible lips united with mine. My stomach contracted in pleasure and as we both deepened our kiss, I felt like I had discovered the greatest secret of the Universe…

* * * * *

In case you were wondering, we did arrive in time at the engagement party and enjoyed ourselves greatly. Need I say I spent the best Christmas ever with Dom? My idyllic times still haven’t finished; on New Year’s Eve when we’ll kiss at midnight under the fireworks, I will have but a single wish…Dom and I forever. I still thank daily for the moment I met him… as if, my life started again when I held his hand for the first time.

If life is only a series of stations, then I ascended in a few hours from the dullest one to the most inconceivably bright and complete terminal point.The train of my life might have been uncomfortable and causing problems at times; it stuck too long in the stations of Worry, Fear and Sadness but in the end I was blessed with the best engine-driver I could have wished for. I was no longer a powerless traveller but the one who travelled with love by their side; together with Dom, I now decided which railway would lead me to my final goal and now, I took my life as being the most adventurous journey of all.

 

** Stardust movie


End file.
